Photos: Cyclone Phailin’s trail of destruction in India

The biggest evacuation in India’s history helped minimize loss of life during the enormous storm.

People hold each others’ hands and cross a water logged road as they return to their respective villages near Gopalpur, Orissa state, India, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. India began sorting through miles of wreckage Sunday after Cyclone Phailin roared ashore, flooding towns and villages and destroying tens of thousands of thatch homes, but officials said massive evacuation efforts had spared the east coast from widespread loss of life.